Pearl has pretty much taken over the “reading,” as well as the page turning, so I’m relegated to making interested noises. My brain is wandering when suddenly, a woman sits on the stairs next to me. Too close.
She smells like watermelon vape.
I immediately wrap my arms around Winnie in her carrier.
“Relax,” Delaney murmurs under her breath. “If you tip off your goon over there, you’re not going to see what I’ve got to show you. And believe me, you’re gonna want to see this.”
“Mommy?” Pearl peers across me at Delaney.
“Hi, Pearl.” Delaney smiles at my little girl, flashing that shadowed tooth. “It’s good to see you again. Do you remember me?”
My skin crawls. “Sweetie, how about you go pick your five books now? Let Mommy talk to the lady.”
Pearl eyes Delaney, brows stitching together, accentuating her little girl unibrow. She doesn’t answer her, instead saying to me, “You come with me, Mommy. Help me pick.”
“I’ll be there in a minute. Let me talk to this lady real quick.”
I hold my breath, my gaze flickering to where Martinez sits, his nose stuck in his book. In his defense, Delaney is dressed like all the other moms in yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt with a travel tumbler and car keys in her hands. Her bright red hair is hidden in a baseball cap.
“Okay, Mommy,” Pearl finally agrees. She wanders over to a shelf, glancing back a few times over her shoulder, frowning, before she gets distracted.
Delaney smiles at me. “Such a pretty little girl. She looks just like you.”
Why is she always sitting so close to me? Not only can I see the shadow on her tooth, I can make out the line of her foundation despite the decent blending job. My adrenaline is surging. If I headbutt her, I could break her nose. Her jaw, even.
I lower my voice. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to show you something.” She slips a phone out of her sweatshirt’s kangaroo pocket. “Did you know there’s CCTV all over Maddox Tower? Of course, you did. You probably thought Adrian would handle it. That’s your deal, right? You squeeze out the blonde-haired, blue-eyed crotch rats, and he takes care of everything. I’m not judging. A girl’s got to get her bag.”
She holds the phone between us and opens a black and white video. I immediately recognize the parking garage. The Scorpion. She taps play. I watch myself soundlessly accelerate until I crash the car into the column. She taps again. The video replays.
All my blood sinks to my feet.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as batshit crazy as this.” She plays it again. It’s only a few seconds. The Scorpion was fast. “I’m sure the last thingyou’d want is for this video to get out. I bet if I put a trending sound on it, I could make it go viral. I mean, it’s a Scorpion. What are they? Three, four hundred thousand dollars?”
She smirks at me and frowns in fake concern. “What would Adrian’s clients think? Or the other moms at story hour?” She pauses for effect, skewering me with her bright, triumphant gaze. “What would Child Protective Services do? I don’t think a person this unbalanced should be alone with kids. Do you?”
The phone is so close. Inches from my hand. I could snatch it. Smash it.
She chuckles and slips it back in her pocket.
“Uh, uh,” she tuts. “You know I’ve got copies of this saved all over the place. Now, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to have a talk with your loving, devoted husband. Convince him that he can’t be fucking his employees and then firing them. I don’t care how you do it, but get him to hire me back. I’m not losing my reputation over this bullshit.” She takes a steadying breath before she continues. “Don’t worry. As soon as I get another gig lined up, I’ll be out of there. I always thought Adrian wanted the best, like me, but that man wants a doll, not a real woman. You can keep him.”
My neck prickles. Martinez has noticed us, his eyes narrowing as he tries to place Delaney. She might have her hair hidden, but she’s a striking woman. He’ll figure it out.
He snaps a picture of her with his phone. We’re running out of time. If he pegs her as a threat, he’ll confront her, and with two clicks, that video is all over the internet.
“Okay. Fine,” I mutter. “But you have to go now.”
She arches a finely plucked eyebrow. “That easy? You don’t want to insult me or threaten me or something first?”
“That easy. You have to leave now. He’s going to come over here.” I nod at Martinez. Whatever came up on hisphone has him frowning. “I’ll take care of Adrian. You’ll have your job back. Just go.”
She snorts. “Honestly, after that stunt with the car, I thought you’d be a harder nut to crack.”
“Just go.”
My head is filling with air. She needs to go before I rip that phone out of her pocket and smash her face in with it. That is not happening in front of my babies. We’ve got to get out of here.
